So I was just reading through this article from ESPN and they are talking about when Pronger will be eligible.

It seems it's "three years from last game" and has nothing to do with the fact that he's still under contract. As such, he could go in as soon as 2015 if selected.

But what really struck me was the tone of the article where everyone interviewed looked at him as a surefire, guaranteed HoF inductee.

Pierre LeBrun wrote:

Scott Niedermayer and Chris Chelios were no-brainer, first-year Hockey Hall of Fame inductees as two of the greatest blueliners ever to play the game. And Chris Pronger will be the same, whenever his day comes.

Pierre LeBrun wrote:

Pronger’s humility notwithstanding, it's clear he’s a first-year automatic inductee whenever his times comes, and if it is indeed in 2015, that would be the same year as the great Nicklas Lidstrom, so that would be a perfect 1-2 punch to put in.

Is his resume really that good? Is he really first-ballot, surefire HoF caliber?

1. Wore a letter for pretty much every team he was a part of, including the C.2. Been to the finals 3x, won the Cup once.3. Won the Hart as a Defenseman which hadn't happened since this guy named Orr.4. Two Olympic Gold Medals. Not one. Two.And was a fairly reliable scorer/assistman

Quite possibly one of the best D of our time and is he First-String HoF material?! Seriously? Hell yes!

The one I'm curious about, when he finally retires and doesn't win a Cup, is Shane Doan. Now there's a guy who deserves to be in the HoF, hands down.

That's a pretty good list, one with a lot of Hall of Famers on it. I know there are more factors than comparing players and saying, 'That guy is an HOFer, so this guy has to be.' But the type of guys Prongs compares to, along with his numbers, and like Oakland said, the first D-man since Orr to win a Hart, makes him more than qualified to be a first ballot HOFer.

If he was still playing, it wouldn't be a question. He's just be padding the stats. But because his career ended prematurely, I guess that's where the question comes in. But it's not a question for me. He's a first ballot guy.

_________________2014-2015 Official LGB Sponsor of T.J. Oshie2013-2014 Official LGB Sponsor of Kevin Shattenkirk2012-2013 Official LGB Sponsor of Ryan Reaves2011-2012 Official LGB Sponsor of Vladimir Tarasenko2010-2011 Official LGB Sponsor of Vladimir Tarasenko

I would say so. Every Hart winner who has been eligible except for 3 has been voted into the hall of fame. That's roughly 40 winners in the hall and 3 not. Of the three, one was a goalie who played for a god awful team and consequently had terrible numbers but was still given the trophy. One had a short career and the last was injury plagued. Add in that Pronger did it as a D, which is much more difficult in todays game. The last D to win it other then Pronger was Orr in '72. Pronger was the only D in 40 years to win the Hart (from '73 til now). He wasn't a one season fluke either, with 6 all-star games. That means auto bid for me. Only one Norris could be a knock, but you can hardly blame him as the writers auto-gave it to Lidstrom whether he derserved it or not for about 10 years. Also HoFers Niedermayer and Macinnis only have one each. His career definitely makes him a HoFer. His one great year and Hart win secures the first bid.

One of the best all around defensemen of his era. If not for Lidstrom, he would be considered the best of his era.Dude controlled the play on the ice better than anyone I have ever seen. Punished players in the defensive zone, put up very good numbers in the offensive zone, triggered long outlet passes (goal line to blue line) better than anyone...seemingly had a wingspan of half the width of the rink.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot], Yahoo [Bot] and 10 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum